We Are Family
by castellations
Summary: In an underwater city in which you have to fight tooth-and-nail to get what you have, Elizabeth Comstock and Jack Ryan have to stick together to help Anna DeWitt escape Rapture, and fix her...condition. *CURRENTLY BEING REVISED*
1. Anna?

**Author's Note: Hi! I am new to the "Fanfiction" community. This is my first fanfic, so please rate and review! Also, please do not say anything mean in the comments. I'm rather sensitive.. Okay, I do not own anything in this story excepting the story itself. I hope you like it! J**

**Oh, and also, before you begin, this is set after the ending credits scene of BioShock Infinite. It's in a dimension where Booker didn't have any debts. That being said, I hope you enjoy it!**

"Anna? Is that you?" Booker called as he pushed open the door to Anna's room. He walked over to the crib and was relieved to find his infant daughter sound asleep, as she should be. Booker smiled weakly. Suddenly, as if in a trance, he slowly reached down and extended his index and middle fingers to touch her soft cheek. The backs of his fingers gently rubbed against the child's soft skin. He suddenly stopped. Why had he come in here? He remembered being worried that she wasn't in here. Anna was obviously here. Why wouldn't she be? He gave up trying to make sense of it and decided that it must have been parental instincts. Realizing that Anna was now awake, Booker picked up the child and cradled her in his arms.

"You had me worried there, you know that? You're going to be a handful," he told her. The baby just smiled up at him, completely oblivious to the fact that he was talking to her. After a few moments, she fell asleep once more, and Booker gently lowered her back into her crib. He then quietly backed out of the room and almost closed the door. He sat down at his desk and began to sift through the paperwork he had to complete.

**Okay, so I think that was good, but I think you guys will disagree with that… LBut hey! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. You CAN express your opinion in the comments, but PLEASE be nice about it. THX! Also, do you think Anna should have a birthday in Paris?**


	2. Happy Birthday Anna!

**Okay, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and this chapter is going to basically just describe Anna's birthday in Paris. I'm sorry it's so cruddy, I just wanted to get it done so that we could get to Rapture. Don't judge me. Thx! Also, this is pretty much the last chapter before we get to the good stuff. So, please keep reading! Also, they ARE going to go to Rapture in the next chapter…****J**

**ladybugsonfire**

**Eight years later…**

_POW! _Something big and soft hit Booker in the face. "Hey! What the-"he grumbled. He heard the sound of tiny footsteps running out of his room and an unmistakable giggle on the other side of the wall. Booker sighed and tried to sleep again. When he heard the sound of the footsteps approaching again, he got up. Anna screamed and ran out of the room, knocking over several items. Booker followed her into her room, where he found her brushing her hair and tying the sash on her dress again. She was humming "A Night in Town", an old French classic. **A/N: I made that up. Sorry.**

"You're already dressed and ready to go?" Booker asked, surprised. She usually wasn't up this early. Ever.

"Yup. Primped and primed. I'm eight now! I have to be," she replied happily.

"Okay, then," Booker chuckled. Anna glared at him with such a murderous look in her eyes that it surprised even him. He took a step back, never taking his eyes off of hers. A second later, though, the look was gone, replaced with simple suspicion and perhaps a hint of annoyance.

"What's so funny?" she prompted, narrowing her eyes as she spoke.

"Nothing, nothing, darling…I'll go get ready, and then we'll go. Okay?"

"Alright…" By this point, she had already resumed her hair-brushing and was now trying to decide whether to wear her hair down or up. "Just be quick, please! It's my eighth birthday…." She pleaded.

"Got it," he said. He hurried to his own room to get changed. It had been five years since he and Anna had moved from New York to Paris. She loved it here. She would always say that when she grew up, she'd live here right with her daddy until the day she died. That always made Booker happy.

Five minutes later, he was dressed and ready to go. He was dressed in a white, tucked-in shirt and tan pants. He'd shaved his face and gotten his hair cut recently, and he'd combed his hair.

Anna bounced joyously out of her room, finally deciding to wear her hair up. When she saw her daddy, she smiled. "You look very handsome," she commented. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door.

By nine 'o clock, they were on their way to the Café de Paris to eat breakfast. Anna practically ran all the way. Once, Booker lost her. When he found her again, she had a pretty blue bird pendant on her dress.

"Where did you get that, Anna?" he asked, pointing to the pendant.

Anna smiled, took off the pendant, and admired it lovingly. "Isn't it beautiful? I got it from a man and lady. There was a bird and a cage. They talked funny, and they finished each other's….sandwiches? No, no, sentences. Yeah, and then after I chose the bird they walked away. Then I figured you were probably waiting for me, and then I came back, and now I'm hungry, and when will we get there? I want sandwiches," she explained. She put the pendant back on.

After the Café de Paris, they headed downtown, where they bought a new sailor's dress for Anna. She put it on immediately afterwards. After that, they headed to the Louvre Museum. Anna had always loved history. When she'd heard about the museum, she'd begged her dad to take her there. When they left, Anna cast one last glance towards the museum. "I'll come back!" she called.

At 12 'o clock, they made their way to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, where they spent most of the afternoon. Afterwards, they visited the Latin Quarter, and after that, they finally went to see the Eiffel Tower. Then they headed back to the apartment for the night.

**Okay! That pretty much wraps that up… I believe you are all going to hate me for this chapter. PLEASE DON'T! …please? D': Also, nice people get my appreciation and if I get enough followers to this story then I might give it a happy ending… ha, I am so weird. RATE &amp; REVIEW, PLEASE.**

**Thank you all ever so much for taking precious time out of your numbered days to read this very crappy story (and possibly give it a review or two! ****J****)! Also, there is going to be an OC of mine making a brief appearance in the next chapter.**

**Peace out, y'all!**

**ladybugsonfire**


	3. Betrayed

**A/N: I'm very sorry for the very dramatic chapter name. Remember last chapter when I said I'd be introducing an OC? I changed my mind-she'll come later. RAPTURE IS NEXT. GET YOUR GRENADE LAUNCHERS, MOTHERFUCKERS.**

**:)**

**I REGRET NOTHING!**

***runs away***

***gets hit in the face by a wall***

**EXCEPT FOR THAT...**

Booker DeWitt was sitting in his office, three months later, shifting through all of the paperwork he had to complete. He'd just about finished when a woman walked in. She was tall, blonde with curls to her shoulders. She had green eyes that bore into your soul. She walked up to Booker and tossed something onto the desk separating them.

"Hello. You Booker DeWitt?" the woman asked in a southern accent.

"That'd be me. What can I do for you, miss?" Booker inquired.

"I've got a case that needs solving. You up for it?" she said, fingering the item that she'd placed on the desk. Booker studied her carefully. She didn't look like she was lying, but Booker knew that just because someone didn't look like they were lying doesn't mean they aren't.

"Alright, I'll take it. What's the trouble, ma'am?"

"Good. Alright, here's what's hot: I got a cousin. Murdered in her own home, right in the dead of night. Happened last week. The body was all cut up, an' there was some strange writing on her back. Some cruel bastard just fucking—"she began.

Here Booker interrupted. "Uh, miss? Do you mind? I got an eight year old kid in the other room." He jabbed his thumb towards Anna's bedroom.

The woman nodded. "Sorry. But anyways, someone—and by that I mean the…um…" She paused for a moment, trying to find the right word to use. She snapped her fingers. "Aha! Murderer. Yes, the murderer carved, "THE DREAM IS OVER. RAPTURE AWAKENS." On her back. Rapture? Seriously? I mean, what kind of a dicey place is that?" She was practically crying now. Booker stood up. She definitely was not lying.

"Well, ma'am, we'll figure this out. I have to call someone first, though, for my little girl. You okay with that, Miss, um…?" Booker asked. The woman shook her head.

"Julia. No, not at all. I'll be waiting outside for you." Julia walked out of the apartment, closing the door tightly behind her. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed 3-2-4-9-8-4-7-6-0.

_RING, RING…_

Julia sighed impatiently.

"Come on, pick up, Atlas…"

_RING, RING…_

"_Hello. Who is this?_"

"Atlas! Finally. It's me, Diane. Listen, I've gotten Booker DeWitt to come with me. He's hiring someone, maybe a babysitter? To come and look after the girl. Do you want me to take care of this?"

"_Good work, love. We'll change nothin' in the plan. Just do what we discussed an' ye should be fine. As for the girl…well, girly, you jus' let me take care of her. After that little…episode with Jack, we can't take any chances. You just come back alive, an' we'll be fine, see?"_

"Got it. Baby, if I don't make it out alive, I love you."

"_I love you too. Make sure we get the girl, and make sure Booker DeWitt never sees the sun again. …Wait, no. Knock him out, then drag him to the agreed upon location. I'll send Johnny down there to come and pick you up. Bring him back to Rapture unharmed. We'll-."_

The line went dead.

"Atlas?... well, okay then."

"Julia" snapped her cell phone shut, put her left ear to the door, and listened carefully.

"_Yeah, like I said, Maria, I've got a case. I'm gonna need you to look after Anna for me while I'm away…Okay, great. Bye." _He hung up the line, walked toward the door, and pulled it open to reveal 'Julia' leaning against the door frame.

"We done yet?" Julia asked.

Booker nodded and they set off towards Warehouse #13.

**Don't judge me, I think Atlas could USE a little love in his life! Also, can you figure out who Diane is? (HINT. HINT. It's Diane McClintock ****J****) Aaaaaaannnnywaaaaaaysssss….goodbye. FOR NOW…..**

**YES YES I DO ****J**

**SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP IIIIIIITTTTT okay, so I'm PRETTY much done being weird here, so I'll update. Also, I hope you like -, BECAUSE Booker is going to - - - - ! And - is - - - - - - - -!1**

**Okay, yeah now I'm done being weird…. Sorry ****J**

**PEACE OUT, Y'ALL!**

**3****Ladybugsonfire****3**


	4. All Good Girls Gather, Gather

**Okay, so I'm suffering from a bit of writer's block at the moment,…..**

"An old warehouse?" Booker asked doubtfully.

"Mhm. This is where I've tracked the killer to. He's in here somewhere." Diane pointed to the entrance. "It's locked, so we'll have to find another way in. Do you know anything about lockpicking?" she asked. Booker shook his head.

"No, but…I think… I think I used to. Let me take a look, at least. Can't hurt to try." He got out of the car. He walked over to the lock and started fiddling with it. Diane, meanwhile, opened the glove compartment, took out a red wrench, and got out of the car. She crept behind Booker…

"Well, fuck. This is a key-only type of lock. And I don't have the key." He turned and saw Diane with the wrench. "What are you doing? I told you, nothing can open this thing up except the key, which we don't have."

Diane grinned evilly. "Maybe you don't, but I do." And she swung. Booker crumpled to the ground, knocked unconscious. Diane unlocked the door and dragged Booker into the bathysphere waiting inside.

"And now, we wait."

_It took only a few minutes for Johnny to come. He was dragging what seemed like a corpse behind him.

"Johnny, who was that?" she demanded, pointing at the "corpse".

"Now, now, missy, don't go counting your chickens before they've hatched. You see, I broke into the apartment, grabbed the girl, and got out. The little brat wouldn't shut up, though, so I had to sedate her. And don't worry about the babysitter, she was taken care of, too." Johnny grinned. Diane clapped her hands ecstatically.

"Oh, Johnny, dear, you've really outdone yourself this time! Oh, wait until I tell Atlas! He'll be so pleased!" Diane began to jump up and down for joy.

"We'd better go, miss," Johnny reminded her. Diane stopped her victory jump and nodded. They both climbed into the bathysphere and down they went.

Diane sighed in relief. "Home again home again," she whispered. She couldn't wait to see Atlas. She was sure he was feeling the same way.

"But are you sure, Dr.? She doesn't look like she is capable of the procedure," a German woman said. Anna groaned. "Oh," the same woman said. "Nevermind, then. Suchong, the Little One is up. Let us begin the procedure now."

"Not now, Tenenbaum, I-wait, what? She is up? Good, good! Let us begin at once! Cedric, bring me my tools," a Japanese man said. Anna heard footsteps running.

"Coming, sir! Here," Cedric said.

"Good. Now, Brigid, come here. I need you to inject her with this while I prepare her for the mental conditioning," Suchong said. Anna gasped and opened her eyes to find herself strapped to a table in what looked like a sort of lab. She looked around and saw a German woman holding a bottle with something in it. The woman was very pretty; she had brown eyes, and brown curls that reached all the way to her shoulders. She could not have been older than 19. Anna decided that she must be "Brigid Tenenbaum". The other one, a Japanese man, was Suchong, Anna guessed.

_How did I get here? _Anna wondered. She thought back to the previous morning. _Daddy said he had to go somewhere for a while—oh! That man, he took me! He stole me, and now those evil people are going to experiment on me! Oh, daddy, please, please come and save me!_ Anna desperately tried to get out of the straps, but that unfortunately only caught Brigid's attention. She looked at her, then turned back to Suchong. Anna noticed that she was pointing at her. A few moments later, Brigid came over.

"Do not worry, little one. You will be safe. We are going to have you eat a slug—"Brigid began, but was cut off by Anna screaming.

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO! WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?! WHY DID YOU KIDNAP ME!? DADDY!" she screamed.

"Now, Suchong! Shove it down her throat!" Brigid yelled. Suchong did so, and she almost choked. She had no choice but to swallow to slug at that point.

"Very good, child. Now, we will inject you with lots of ADAM, and then we will take you to be mentally conditioned. Then, to be bonded to a Big Daddy. Alright? Do not be afraid, little one. You have nothing to fear."

Anna wanted to scream again. She wanted to punch her in the face. But she couldn't. She was too tired. Realizing that she had no choice, she obediently nodded her head.

"Very good," Brigid said. She then procceded to stab the girl in neck with a syringe. As Anna turned her head towards her, she noticed that the syringe was filled with some kind of red liquid.

"Is that the ADAM you were talking about?" she asked. Brigid nodded.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked again.

"We are going to turn you into a Gatherer, or, as they are more commonly known, a Little Sister. You will gather the ADAM from dead corpses all around Rapture with your Big Daddy at your side to protect you."

"Why? What makes you think that I'm going to go along with that?" she demanded. Brigid just smiled. It completely unnerved Anna.

"Because we told you so, little one. All good girls gather. And now, so will you."

The last real thing Anna saw was Suchong placing a saw against her forehead. Then everything went black.

**Well, Jim-Dandy, folks! Wasn't that a shocker? So, do you like my story so far? Let me know what you think, please! ****J**

**3****ladybugsonfire****3**


	5. A Friend

Booker woke up with a sharp pain in the side of his head. He placed his hand on the throbbing side of his head and looked up.

He appeared underwater, in a small room of some sort. He realized that they were descending down into the ocean.

He also noticed that there were two people in the room with him; one a smartly dressed woman with big blonde curls down to her shoulders, and another with a scraggly, rough beard and brown, ratty short hair and yellow teeth.

At once, he remembered what happened. "Where am I? Where are you taking me?"

The woman, who he remembered as Julia, made to speak, but the man spoke first.

"We gotcha, we gotcha! Ahahahaha!" the man laughed.

Julia stared hard at the man. "Quiet, Johnny."

Johnny stopped laughing and smiled nervously. "Sorry, Diane. My bad. Hehehe."

Booker's captives talked in silence for a while after that, and Booker did not interrupt them until…

"So what're we gonna do 'bout the little girl?" Johnny asked.

"Atlas took care of the brat. She's no longer a problem."

Booker, realizing with horror and dread who they were talking about, shouted, "Where's my daughter?! What have you done with my daughter?!"

Diane, acting quickly, restrained him by shooting an Electro Bolt plasmid at him.

Johnny laughed mockingly. "She ain't here, man! Atlas's got her now. She's probably a Little Sister by now—"

"That's _enough_, Johnny."

Johnny at once quieted down and looked thoughtfully at his own two hands.

Booker, now more aggravated than he had ever been, struggled to get up. Diane nodded at Johnny, who promptly threw a punch at Booker.

Booker staggered back, falling against the lever and falling to the floor unconscious. By that time they had arrived at their destination.

xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Anna woke up feeling rather dreamy and hungry. She sat up and looked around for something to eat. She saw a woman with pretty, long ringlets tied up in an elegant bun in the back, and a stylish party dress.

"Oh, hello. Who are you?" Anna asked.

"My name is Mama Tenenbaum."

"Oh, hi! I'm—I'm… I….actually don't know."

Tenenbaum smiled warmly. "How about we give you a name?"

Anna smiled enthusiactically. "Yeah!"

"How about…Fiona?"

Anna thought for a moment. "What about it?"

"Would you like that to be your new name?"

"Sure!" Anna's stomach growled. She flinched, startled. She put her hand on her stomach. "Can we get food?"

Tenenbaum laughed and nodded. "Yes, indeed. Come along, Fiona. We'll get some food for you. As a matter of fact, I have someone I would like you to meet."

xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

"This way, Daddy! I can smell the ADAM!" Anna practically screeched with delight a she pulled the Big Daddy's hand. The Big Daddy slowly and clumsily followed Anna's tugs and pulls. Anna ran around a corner ahead of him, too excited to wait.

That was the biggest and best mistake of her life.

The first thing that she saw when she turned the corner was a man.

It looked, at first glance, as though he was wearing a yellow masquerade suit. But Anna, thinking she was alone, was shocked and scared to see him, and for a moment the visions faded away, and she saw that the man was bloody.

He wore a symbolic yellow sweater (**hint, hint**) and he wielded a wrench in his right hand. He was inspecting an ADAM-filled corpse carefully.

Anna, curious, approached him. "Hi," she said, waving a little.

The man, startled, jumped, and brandished his wrench momentarily before realizing his mistake. "Sorry," he apologized, and held out his hand for Anna to shake.

Anna, her dreamy vision restored, took it and swung it around a little. "Nice ta meetcha. I'm Fiona."

"Jack." He knelt down and smiled at her. "Where's your daddy?"

"Oh, he's coming. Don't worry!" Anna beamed, but stopped when she saw the look of concern written on his face. "What is it?"

Jack seemed about to answer, but just then, a voice came from Jack's back pocket.

_C'mon, boyo! What are you waitin' for? Get the ADAM and get out!_

Anna cocked her head to the left. "Who is that?"

Jack shook his head. "Listen, it doesn't matter, alright? I need—"

All of a sudden, Anna's Big Daddy came around the corner. He saw Anna with Jack, and he went into Rage Mode.

Jack got up and grabbed Anna's hand. "Damnit! Alright, Fiona, was it?"

"Yeah?"

"You have to come with me. Please—"

"Why?"

"Just—"

The Big Daddy roared and brought its drill down beside Jack. Jack dodged it, but barely.

"Daddy, stop!" Anna cried, moving in between the alpha and Jack. The alpha roared again and smacked Anna with his drill, sending her into the wall. She hit it, slid down, and could barely see anymore. She remembered seeing Jack viciously attacking the Big Daddy, her vision constantly switching from real to fake, being confused, and blacking out. After that, some hours later, she slipped into consciousness, and saw Jack putting his glowing hand on her forehead. After that, she went unconscious again.

**TWO HOURS LATER**

Anna groaned as she sat up, rubbing her forehead. "Where am I—oh! That's right," she said, snapping her fingers as she remembered. She was….well, she didn't know, exactly.

She looked around frantically for her friend, Jack. "Jack?" she called.

She heard footsteps and quickly ran to a Little Sister vending machine, dodging behind it. She peeked out from behind it, and to her great relief, saw Jack.

"Fiona! You're alive! Thank God." He ran over and gave her a hug. "Come on, we need to get you to Brigid Tenenbaum." He held out his hand.

Anna took it at once. "Why?"

"She's gonna protect you."

Anna looked up at Jack, not sure whether to believe him or not. She was contemplating this, looking around idly as she did so, when she suddenly realized that there was a hole of some sort in a far-off wall. She took off after it, ignoring Jack's desperate pleas for her to come back. Finally, Jack sighed and followed the girl.

"What the hell is that?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. Another universe, maybe?" Anna cautiously reached her hand inside, and was delighted when she realized that she could, in fact, step entirely into the hole.

She did so, and immediately regretted her decision.

As soon as she stepped through, the portal started to flicker, like a movie screen. Anna gasped in wonder and horror as the hole got smaller and smaller. Jack screamed, Come on! Jump through!"

Anna, obeying his command, quickly took a quick look around the world she was in before grabbing Jack's outstretched hand and jumping through the portal, her right hand trailing behind her with her pinky up.

That was a mistake.

As soon as she'd come back, the portal had closed completely, and Anna felt a searing pain in her right pinky. Curious, she held up her finger, and her eyes widened in shock.

She was silent for a moment, but then she screamed. A horrible scream it was, too.

Jack gasped. "Your—your finger, it's gone!"

A few minutes afterwards, Anna's finger had been roughly bandaged up, but it still hurt.

"What are you doing down here in Rapture, Fiona? A bit old to be a Little Sister, aren't you?" Jack asked her, sometime later.

Anna looked at him funny, then sighed. "I don't know what that is, but okay?"

"A Little Sister. You know, they collect ADAM from dead bodies? You were one, too, until I rescued you. How old are you, anyways?"

"Uh….I-I don't actually know."

Jack didn't talk for a long time. When he did, Anna was half-asleep.

"We're not going back to Tenenbaum."

That jerked Anna awake almost at once. "Wait, what?"

"There's something special about you. I can't just let you go. I have to—and I'm _going _

To—protect you, no matter what."

He didn't know why, exactly. Maybe it was because she looked…special. Even for a Little Sister. Her ragged, worn-down, dirty, blue dress, barely covered her knees. Her bare feet were dirty, but otherwise, they were in perfect condition. Not a single scratch disfigured her perfect, pale skin. Her stringy, dark brown hair was dirty and oily, and it hung loosely from her scalp, framing her face and partially hiding her dark blue eyes. Her hair was shoulder-length, and Jack wondered just how long she'd been like this.

"Anna," the former Little Sister almost whispered. "My name is Anna."

Jack looked at her. "Anna? That's your name?"

Anna nodded. "Yes. Anna. Anna….Anna….I can't remember my last name, but I do remember my first name. Anna."

Jack nodded approvingly. "Anna. Well, it's a start, anyway."


	6. Sara

Anna woke up to the sound of turret fire. She quickly scrambled out of her bed roll that she had been sleeping in, and rose to her feet. Only then did she realize that she was in the middle of a Splicer fight. She frantically searched the battlefield for Jack, breathing an enormous sigh of relief when she spotted him not too far away, clunking a Spider Slicer on the head with his wrench. Eager to help, Anna surveyed the surrounding areas for weapons. She found plenty of ammunition, weapons, and more EVE than she cared for. She carried her load of supplies under a nearby staircase, and quickly sorted through the pile. She found a grenade launcher, among other things, and hurriedly searched for grenades to fill it with. Unfortunately, she didn't find any, but she did find something far more interesting. She heard a loud, _AAAIIIIIEEEEEEE! _from near Jack. She turned and saw that Jack had shot a Baby Jane Splicer at point-blank range. Anna cringed at the sight of blood splattered on the walls (and all over Jack, too).

She withdrew to her secret under-the-stairs refuge, and contemplated what to do next. She was far too young to handle any weapons, and she knew that. The only thing that she would do for Jack in this state was get him killed. And Anna couldn't afford that; Jack had to take her home.

If she even had a home. Anna didn't remember anything but her own name. Where she was, who she was, and what her previous life had been like was a big blurry mess. Jack had called her a Little Sister. Did that mean something?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Small, soft, light footsteps. A cold, dead feeling washed over Anna as she peeked out from her makeshift fortress and looked around.

With dread, she cautiously climbed out and tip-toed around a corner, expecting the worst. Suddenly, a tiny, half-demonic voice started to sing:

_Mr. Bubbles, Mr. Bubbles,_

_Are you there? Are you there?_

_Come and give me lollies._

_Come and bring me toffies._

_Teddy bears. Teddy bears._

Anna breathed a sigh of relief as she poked her head around the corner. When she saw the Little Sister, however, her heart nearly stopped with horror.

She had never seen anything so awful and monstrous in her life. Where the little girl's eyes should have been, there were only big, yellow orbs, with pupils that were barely visible. Her skin was a ghoulish, bluish white color, and there were heavy bags under her eyes. The child's hair was dirty and ratted, but was nevertheless tied back in a ponytail with a pretty red bow. At least, Anna believed that it was pretty, once.

The Little Sister stopped when she saw Anna.

"An angel!" the child gasped in delight, rushing to greet Anna.

Anna stepped back, unwilling to touch the creature before her. Was this what she had looked like?

"Hi!" the girl squealed, dancing on her tippy-toes. "I've never met an angel before!"

Anna didn't know what to say. "Uh...hi," she offered, holding out her hand to the little girl.

The little girl squealed with delight and, dropping her syringe on the floor, shook Anna's hand excitedly.

Anna recoiled from the Little Sister's cold touch, wiping her hand on her dress. Refusing to lock eyes with the yellow-eyed child, she instead averted her gaze elsewhere. Her roving eyes finally settled on the ADAM spilled on the floor, some still contained inside the large, cracked needle.

Anna stooped down to examine the red, gooey substance. The other girl stooped down, also, mimicking Anna's movements playfully.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" she asked curiously.

Anna looked up. "Hm?"

"Whatcha lookin' at?" the child repeated.

"Oh, just the ADAM. Are you alone?" Anna asked.

The child shook her head. "No. Mr. Bubbles is coming soon."

Anna tilted her head, as if trying to get a better view of the child. No. The girl wasn't a monster; she was not to blame for her state. Perhaps Jack could fix her?

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Sara," the girl responded, jumping into the ADAM puddle.

Anna scowled as some of the red goo splashed onto her dress, giving it a zombieish look to it. The gunfire had stopped some time ago, and she was wondering where Jack was.

"Where's your daddy?" Sara asked suddenly, waddling out of the ADAM and gazing up at Anna.

Anna shrugged. "I don't have a daddy. Never did."

Sara looked sad, then surprised. "Bad angel," she whispered fearfully, looking past Anna and clutching the older girl's dress.

Anna looked where she was looking, and her eyes locked onto a middle-aged man with stubble and a gun surveying the area.

"Quick," Anna motioned to her fort, grabbing Sara's hand gently but firmly. ""He hasn't seen us yet. If we hide, he won't find us. And when Mr. Bubbles comes, then he can take care of him."

Sara nodded, beaming brightly. "Yay!" she said.

Anna and Sara waited until Anna was sure that the strange man was gone. Who was he? He didn't look like a Splicer...

She finally decided that he must be a survivor, and quickly dismissed the thought of him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After a few hours, Jack came back, thankfully. He nudged Anna awake, who in return woke Sara up.

"Anna, who is this?" he asked, motioning to Sara.

"This is Sara. She's a Little Sister. Do you think you could cure her?" she asked hopefully.

Jack looked at Sara for a moment, then sighed, smiling. "All right, I suppose," he joked, faking reluctance.

He brought his hand to her forehead, and with a flash of light and a sigh from Sara, the process was complete. Sara was now a regular girl again.

After introductions were made (and everyone was fed, and they had moved from Fort Frolic to Diyonysus Park), Anna felt like something was coming. She soon proved correct in this assumption.

A few moments after, they heard a loud, _CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK. _Like a Big Daddy's footsteps.

"Go! Quickly! Hide, and don't come out until I say so." Jack grabbed his wrech and a turret-launcher, and headed towards the big guy.

Anna, grabbing Sara's hand, hurried into the makeshift fort in the gift shop, and bolted the door tightly. "Okay," she breathed heavily, leaning against the door. "We should be safe in here."

Sara nodded, then screamed. Anna immediatly reacted, grabbing a nearby pipe and getting into a fighting position.

"What is it, Sara?" she panted.

Sara could only point as she cowered behind the counter, not daring to show her chubby little face.

Anna followed her finger and found herself staring point-blank at the mysterious man from Fort Frolic. She gasped, clumsily swinging her pipe at (and missing) his head. The man chuckled and grabbed the pipe, expertly wrenching it out of her hands. She stumbled backwards, falling on the floor. She got up and frantically searched for another weapon. She could hear Sara whimpering behind the cashier counter.

Anna narrrowed her eyes dangerously at the stranger. "Who are you?" she demanded.

The man smiled, but his face paled and his knuckles whitened and his smil faded when he realized she was serious. "Who am I?" he asked.

Anna nodded. "Yes. That's what I asked. Who are you?" She balled her fists at her sides and grit her teeth fiercely.

The man twisted his face into a look of horror. Anna stepped back, putting her hands beind her so as not to collide with the counter behind her back.

"You don't remember me?" he asked.

Anna shook her head, confused. "No, of course not! We've never met," she explained. "I think you have me confused with someone else."

The man shook his head stubbornly. "No, no, no," he muttered, running his calloused hands through his ginger hair. "Damn..."

"I'm sorry. Truly, but I think it's time you left." Anna reached out to comfort him, but to her surprise, the man grabbed her arm.

Anna screamed. "What are you doing?!"

The man kneeled down so as to be at eye-level with her, and pointed to the pin on her chest.

"Where did you get that?" he asked.

"I-I-I-I-I don't know!" she sobbed, trying in vain to wriggle free from his grasp.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a tear, behind the cashier counter. Thinking quickly, she twisted the man's arm around and opened it up.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, a loud, screeching sound came through.

Anna stood aghast as a large, metal, bird-like structure soared through, nearly coming through before the tear unexpectedly collapsed onto itself.

An astounded Anna lifted her finger to touch her wet nose. She looked down, and to her surprise, saw blood on her fingers.

She turned around to find that the man was gone. But where?

Remembering Sara, she quickly hurried behind the counter.

Sara was curled up in a fetal position, sobbing quietly.

"Shh, shhhh, shhhh, it's okay, it's okay. He's gone now." Anna patted the Little Sister's head gently and smiled.

Sara uncurled, and smiled back before she said quietly, "Who is she?"

Anna turned around and caught a glimpse of a woman in a tight, black skirt and a white, bloody blouse. The woman was wandering through one of the tunnels, apparently oblivious to the girls' existence.

Anna shrunk behind the counter, not wanting to be spotted.. Sara, sensing danger, followed suite.

"A Splicer, probably. We should stay put. Jack will be looking for us." Anna felt around for the child's hand before finding it. She squeezed it tightly.

Sara looked up expectantly at the older girl. "Will we be alright?" she asked.

Anna didn't respond immediately. "Yeah."

**Whew, this was a LOOOOONNNNNG chapter. Okay, so yeah, I am gonna try to write a new chapter every day. But, you know...life. It happens to the best of us :D**


	7. A New Order

"We should try to save other Little Sisters, Anna," Sara suggested.

Anna looked up from her weapons supply. "How? We have no idea what we're doing, Sara. Tenenbaum won't be any help. She made us." She fiddled with her hand cannon, reloading it.

"Why not? She said she would bring us to the surface, whatever that means." Sara went back to coloring on the floor.

Anna stopped. "Wait. When did she say this?"

"A couple of days before I met you," Sara replied innocently, not looking up.

Anna thought for a moment before a loud crash jarred her out of her thoughts.

Sara, jumping up, ran out the door, leaving Anna no choice but to follow.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They soon found out that the source of the crash was a Little Sister being drooped off at a vent. The Little Sister was climbing into the "hidey-holey" when they arrived.

"Hey, wait!" Sara called out.

The girl turned around, surprised. "Who's there?" she asked, frightened.

Anna spoke up. "We're here to help," she said.

"Help what?" the girl asked, puzzled.

"What's your name?" Sara asked.

"Cindy," the girl replied.

Cindy didn't look even half as bad as Sara had when they'd first met. Cindy looked almost like a normal child, minus the glowing eyes and the ghoulish skin. Cindy had fairly long hair, which was dirtied with streaks of oil here and there, with a few specks and spatters of ADAM now and again. Whereas Sara wore a red dress and was brunette-haired, Cindy wore a yellow dress, and her blonde hair was tied back with a yellow bow. She didn't have a syringe, either, so Anna guessed that she must have just gotten done with her ADAM rounds.

"So, where are you going?" Anna asked.

"Mama Tenenbaum," Cindy replied, still refusing to come out of the vent.

Sara, meanwhile, was trying her hardest to coax her out. "Come on out," she said soothingly.

Cindy shook her head. "No!" She stopped and thought for a moment. "You're pretty," she said rather unexpectedly.

Anna, startled, realized she was talking to Sara.

"Thanks. Do you want to be pretty too?" she asked.

Cindy nodded. "Yes!"

"Then come with us. We're going to see Mama Tenenbaum, too."

Cindy finally consented, and climbed eagerly out of the vent. "Okay."

"I'm Sara. This is Anna."

Cindy waved at Anna. "Hi."

Anna simply nodded. These Little Sisters may be girls turned monster, but they still creeped her out.

She heard faint footsteps, and her first thought was, _Another Little Sister. Great. How many are there here?_

She followed the sound of the footsteps, and, turning a corner, she loaded her shotgun, waiting anxiously for the enemy to fire.

What she saw and what she expected were, apparently, two very different things.

She did see someone, but she looked the same age as her, and, what's more, she wasn't a Little Sister.

Anna lowered her weapon and shouted, "Hey!"

The girl whipped around at once-and that's when Anna realized that it _wasn't _a girl. It was a boy, maybe a few years older than her. He wore bluish-greenish striped pajamas, and his shirt was ripped open to reveal a scarred and flat chest. The poor thing was barefoot, and his clothing was torn here and there. His light, ginger-colored hair was spiked, and his hands were shaking violently.

What surprised Anna the most?

The boy had yellow eyes.


	8. Adam

"Who are you?" Anna asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

The boy cocked his head to the side and smiled. His teeth...oh God, his _teeth_. They were yellow, as if he hadn't brushed them in centuries. He looked like he was about to pounce on her and eat her face off.

The thought made her extremely uncomfortable. She stepped back a bit.

"Adam," the boy said.

"Adam. Is that your name?" she asked timidly.

The boy stepped closer. "Yes." He stepped over the rubble on the floor and came up to Anna. He took her hand, gently opened up her palm, and placed a bottle of red liquid in it. He looked into her eyes, and nodded.

Anna, puzzled, looked down at the bottle. Not knowing what to do, she looked at the yellow-eyed boy, who looked at her expectantly, with a hint of something else. Was that...hope in his eyes?

She looked back at the bottle. "You want me to drink this?" she asked increduosly.

He nodded. "Uh-huh."

Anna shook her head. "All right..." She popped the cork and gulped it down in one sitting.

The boy nodded, clearly impressed. "Good," he said.

Anna tried to smile, but she was too queasy to do anything but drop to her knees.

Adam sat beside her, patting her on the back.

Anna looked up at him, and the first thing that came to mind was: _I have to help him_.

She raised her hand, and, bringing it to his forehead, closed her eyes, waiting. A flash of light, then a sigh, then nothing. She blacked out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you alright? You conked out there." Adam put a hand on her forehead.

Anna sat up, dazed. "Huh...Sara. Cindy!" she called frantically, scrambling up.

"It's okay, I found them. They're okay. Wish I could say the same for you, though...shame, that is." He smiled.

It made Anna uncomfortable, but it also gave her butterflies in her stomach. Seeing as there was technically an ADAM slug in there, she secretly hoped that the slug wouldn't eat the butterflies.

"Are you going to be okay?" Adam asked.

Anna waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah...just..give me a couple of minutes. I'm fine. Really."

Adam arched his eyebrows, but he shrugged and said, "Okay. But what we should do is find you some EVE. You're going to need it to cure that other Little Sister, plus the four that I've seen wandering around here."

Anna groaned. "Oh, great." She laid down again.

Adam walked off, and came back with EVE. "Here," he offered, handing the needle to Sara, who was close by. "Inject this stuff into her. She'll need it."

"Why?" Sara inquired, taking the blue liquid and examining it closely.

"To cure them, of course."

"Cure who?"

Adam was silent for a moment. He looked at his feet, before he said quietly, "You'll see."

Sara, not satisfied, but seeing that Adam didn't want to talk about it, didn't press the matter any further. "All right."

Adam smiled and turned to Anna. "Come on. Your friend is waiting for you in the Therapy Wing. We should go before Ryan finds us." He turned and started to walk away, and Anna, Cindy, and Sara followed, running to keep up with him.

They soon came to what looked like a bar, fallen to ruins. There was light, though, and now Anna could see Adam's face. He looked about 9, maybe 10 years old. He had bluish-green eyes, and his teeth were, strangely, white, like snow. Anna suspected that maybe the light in the water tunnel had messed with the color. He had a light spray of freckles on his face, and he had red circles around his eyes, as if he'd just awoken from a coma, or a particularly distressing nap. His medium blonde hair was ruffled, and static made some split ends stand up. He looked like a zombie.

Cindy was gazing at her new surroundings in terror. "Where are we?" she whispered fearfully.

"Rapture." Adam didn't even look up as he moved towards the counter, picked up a box, shook it, and, making a face, tossed it back on the counter. "Empty," he announced.

"Where is Rapture?" Sara asked. She noticed something on the ground near a fallen Rosie, and stooped down to pick it up.

"Under the sea."

"Under the sea," Cindy sang. "Under the sea..."

"What do you _mean_ you hear voices, Chuck?"


	9. Elizabeth

Adam stiffened and grabbed all three girls. "Quiet."

"Why?" Cindy wondered.

"Splicers. Stay down." He pushed them all under the counter.

"_I'm tellin' ya, Kevin! Little Sisters!_" Chuck giggled and snorted.

_BONK!_

"_Ow! Now what was that for?"_

_"__Quit foolin' around!"_

_"__B-but—"_

_"__Wait. What was that?"_

Adam huffed. "Crap. Okay, stay here." He grabbed a nearby shotgun and loaded it.

Suddenly, a loud _BANG_! came sounding through the area. Adam headed out of the bar and disappeared.

The next few minutes were hazy, and the next thing the girls knew a new pair of voices came drifting through the air. These seemed much closer, as if the people talking were right on the other side of the counter.

"Mr. DeWitt—" A woman spoke.

"_Booker_." A man said, exasperated.

"_Booker_," the woman repeated. "Booker, how do you know—"

"Because I _know_," the man insisted, pounding his fist on the table. All three girls jumped in surprise.

"But _how_?" the woman inquired. "How do you know that Little Sister was your daughter?"

"She had the pin!"

The woman sighed. "Look, we're here to find Sally. Right?"

"But my daughter is out there, Elizabeth! She doesn't even remember who I am!"

The woman, supposedly this Elizabeth he was talking to, retorted, "Well then why don't you go and _find _her, if she's really _that _important to you!"

The man, Booker, shouted, "Fine!" and stormed off.

Elizabeth sighed and leaned against the bar. "Damnit," she muttered.

Anna popped her head out from behind. "Hi."

Elizabeth jumped and reached for her weapon, but seeing who had startled her, she put on a fake smile and lowered her hand. "Hi," she breathed.

Anna held her chin in her hands. "What are you doing?" she inquired.

Elizabeth dusted off her dress. "Oh, y'know…stuff."

Anna raised her eyebrows dubiously. "Stuff."

Elizabeth nodded her confirmation. "Stuff."

"Ah. Well, then. I think you should know that that man who was with you attacked me."

Elizabeth swung around and grabbed Anna's shoulders. "_What did you say?_"

Anna must have looked threatened, because Elizabeth loosened her grip on her shoulders. "He—he attacked me. He said I was his daughter."

Elizabeth's stare hardened into a hateful glare. It was a moment before Anna realized that the woman wasn't directing it at her. "Figures. I can't believe he would actually do that. What a jerk…." She mumbled incoherently, fingering her pinky. Anna realized with a start that her pinky wasn't even _there_.

"What happened?" Cindy asked.

"Hm?"

"You have a cut on your ankle." She pointed.

Elizabeth lazily looked down at her skirt and lifted it up, revealing many nasty cuts and bruises along her legs. She dropped her skirt and sighed heavily. "Yeah. Splicers. Oh. I'm sorry, you probably—"

"We know what Splicers are," Sara interrupted. "Adam told us."

"Adam? Who's that?"

"A Little Brother," Anna spoke up.

Elizabeth took on an expression of countenance that worried Anna greatly. "Um…I don't suppose I could come along with you girls and meet him?"

"Well, now who's this?" a voice said.

Everyone turned, and Elizabeth raised her hand threateningly. "Stay back!" she ordered. "I'm armed."

The speaker was a lean boy of about nineteen, with a yellow sweater and brown hair that almost fell into his face. **(Speaking of which…I did some research, and as it turns out, Jack's actual age is four years old. Can you believe it?!) **He held a wrench in his hands, and he raised his hands in defense. "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you. Relax."

Elizabeth lowered her hands slightly. "And who might you be? Adam?"

The boy looked confused. "Adam? No, no. I'm Jack Ryan." He stuck out his hand, which Elizabeth took, rather coldly.

She let go, and at once she brought her hand up and aimed a blast of ice at his head.

He dodged it (barely), and his eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Watch it!"

"Are you Ryan's son?"

"Illegitimately, yes. But—"he added quickly, sensing that she was about to attack him again, "But…..I can assure you that I am not like my father. I swear." He eyed the Plasmid in Elizabeth's palm, and asked, "Say, which Plasmid is that?"

"Old Man Winter." She shrugged. "But back to the point. Can we trust you?"

"We?"

Anna poked her head out from behind the bar. "Hi." She waved.

Jack pursed his lips. "And _where _have you two been?"

"Three."

Cindy came up, also. "Hiya."

Jack stepped back, surprised. "Wait. You saved a Little Sister?"

"And we met a Little Brother! His name's Adam, but he ran away. So now—"Cindy would have gone on and on, but at that exact moment, Adam reappeared.  
"Okay, they're gone now. But—"He stopped when he saw the two grown-ups. "Um…" He shifted uncomfortably.

Jack raised a hand in greeting, and Elizabeth tried to say hello, but the words were stuck in her throat.

"Um…Is this Adam?"

Adam grinned. "Finally!" he managed. "Non-splicers! Oh, this is brilliant. Simply great!" He looked extremely happy, and Anna wondered how long he'd been alone.

Elizabeth turned to face Jack once more. "We should get going. We can't stay here forever." She made to move past Jack, but he stopped her. "Wait a second, wait a second. Who's we?"

Elizabeth stared at him for a long time before responding. "Us?"

"You're coming?"

"Yes."

"Why? I don't even know you!"

"Elizabeth Comstock." She offered out her hand, which Jack begrudgingly took.

"Can I call you Liz?"

"No."

"All right then, Liz. Let's get going."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, okay then. Sure," she replied sarcastically.

Jack nudged her playfully. "There, see?"

The look he received from Liz was enough to make him shut up for then next 5 minutes.


	10. Kidnapped!

"Say, where are you from, Lizzy?" Jack inquired, picking up a cigarette pack and shaking it. He made a pleased expression, and ripped it open.

Elizabeth scrunched up her nose distastefully. "Those will give you cancer," she pointed out, avoiding the subject.

Jack shrugged. "It's not like I've got that long anyways." He snapped his fingers and lit his cigarette, sticking it in his mouth.

Elizabeth sighed. "Why not?"

"Reasons." He closed his eyes and breathed.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Reasons."

"Yep." He stared out of the tunnel into the infinite abyss of the dark ocean, longing in his eyes.

Elizabeth detected that something was wrong. Looking back to make sure the kids were still asleep, she walked over to where Jack was leaning against the window, smoking.

"You okay?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're awfully quiet."

Jack didn't respond right away.

Elizabeth had just concluded that he wasn't going to, when he said quietly, "My whole life is a lie."

Elizabeth perked up. "What do you mean?"

Jack looked down at his shoes. He didn't answer for a moment. "I'm about twenty years old. I was taken from my mother's stomach and scientifically raised. I was sixteen years old by the time I _should_ have been two _days_ old. After that, I started to age normally. They…they implanted some kind of….phrase, or something, in my mind, to _make_ me do whatever they wanted. Would you kindly. I hate that. I—I'm not human, not really. I—I wish I could go back…maybe…God. My mother was a stripper, and my dad killed her. Just for selling me. She needed money, so she sold me. Her own son, who hadn't even been _born _yet." Anger burned in his eyes. Elizabeth could tell it was there with just one glance.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know how you feel. I understand."

Jack scoffed. "Do you?" He looked at her with hatred and loathing in his eyes. Even though Elizabeth knew it wasn't directed at her, she still stepped back a little.

She quickly looked away and instead focused on the water. She watched as a Pacific Regal Blue Tang and two Clownfish swan by, before trying again.

"Don't," Jack snapped. "Don't say anything."

Out of the blue, a loud, gentle voice, a voice that Elizabeth startlingly recognized as her own, began to sing.

_See the pyramids along the Nile,_

_Watch the sunrise from a tropic isle._

_Just remember, darling, all the while…_

_You belong to me._

Elizabeth searched for the source of the noise, and, spotting Cindy and Sara by a phonograph, walked over to them to turn it off.

Jack grabbed her arm. "Wait. I want to listen."

Elizabeth tried to wrench her arm from his grasp, but the tall, thin boy was much stronger than he appeared. She sighed and gave up, listening to her own voice floating out of the phonograph.

_See the marketplace in old Algiers,_

_Send me photographs and souviners._

_Just remember, when a dream appears,_

_You belong to me._

_And I'll be so alone, without you…_

Elizabeth realized she was singing along under her breath.

_Maybe you'll be lonesome too, and blue._

_Fly the ocean on a silver plane._

_Se the jungle when it's wet with rain._

_Just remember, 'till __you're home again_  
_You belong to me._  
_I'll be so alone without you._  
_Maybe you'll be lonesome too, and blue._  
_Fly the ocean in a silver plane._  
_See the jungle when it's wet with rain._  
_Just remember till you're home again,_  
_You belong to me._

The song ended. Jack let go of Elizabeth, and turned to the window again.

Elizabeth stared for a moment, before she realized that the phonograph was still on. She hurried to shut it off.

A man on the radio was saying, "And that was Elizabeth Comstock, singing 'You Belong to Me'. A lovely song-"

The voice was cut off as Elizabeth shut it off.

Sara complained, "Hey, we were listening to that!"

Cindy groaned. "We can't stay here forever."

Jack spoke up, at last. "We have to. Until we can find a way out, there's simply no way."

Elizabeth rose her head. "Wait. What's that?" she asked.

A loud, screeching noise filled the air. Jack's eyes widened.

"Oh, damnit. Big Sister." He grabbed an EVE needle and injected it into his wrist.

"Big Sister?" she asked, confused.

A large figure suddenly came out of the shadows, out of seemingly nowhere. The thing grabbed Sara and jumped up on the ceiling beams. Elizabeth, perhaps because of the shock of it, didn't react right away; when she did, Cindy was gone, too.

Elizabeth raised her hand, equipping Old Man Winter. She fired, and the Big Sister froze for a couple of seconds, about three inches away from Anna.

Anna panicked and opened up a tear behind the monster, which allowed a Motorized Patriot to come through. The Motorized Patriot started shooting at once, declaring, "For the glory of Columbia!"

He wielded a crank gun, holding it up and letting it loose not upon the Big Sister, but on Anna, who dodged (barely). He shouted, "We hold these truths to be self-evident!"

Anna screamed, "Make it stop! Make it stop! Ja-ack, _do _something, damnit!"she screamed before the Big Sister caught her, too. The Big Sister dodged Jack's blows and ripped out the Motorized Patriot, causing it to stumble forwards a bit before falling down.

The Big Sister's helmet glowed yellow as it looked at Anna, then it momentarily flashed red at Jack. Jack held his hands up and dropped his wrench on the ground, which made the Big Sister's helmet go from red to green. Elizabeth stepped up to the creature, amazed.

"What _are _you?" she asked, reaching out to it.

The Big Sister screeched and stepped back, taking off its helmet to reveal a slim, dark-haired girl with bold, blue eyes. The girl gasped when she saw the two. "You—you two aren't Splicers?" she managed in disbelief.

Elizabeth scoffed. "Well, no need to make introductions," she muttered. Jack elbowed her. "Ow!"

The girl snickered before answering. "Well, I suppose not. My name is Eleanor. Pleased to meet you two."

"Eleanor." Jack held out his hand. "I'm Jack. And this is my partner, Liz."

Elizabeth nodded. "Hi."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow dubiously, but shrugged and smiled. "So. What brings you two to Rapture?"

"Uh…" Jack glanced hopefully at Elizabeth, praying that she would have a story. When he saw, however, that she was as clueless as he was, he turned quickly to face Eleanor again. "Well, you see—"

Eleanor held up her hand. "No, wait. Let me guess…you're here to take back the Little Sisters, right?"

"Uh…take…back?" Jack stuttered.

"Take them back. To their homes?"

"Y-yeah…actually."

Eleanor sighed. "And you will stop at absolutely nothing until every one of these Little Sisters is safe?"

"Of course," Jack replied.

Eleanor frowned. "And here I thought we could resolve this civilly. Now, I'm going to have to kill you."

Before anyone could react, Eleanor plunged her ADAM needle right through Jack's stomach, holding him up for a moment before retracting it. She let his limp body drop to the floor before turning her attention to Elizabeth, who stood frozen in fear at the sight of Jack's mauled body.

"You will not harm her," she said loudly, in an effort to hide her fear.

Eleanor laughed. "You think you can hide it from me? I know who you are, _Anna Dewitt_. I know everything about you. You're nothing. Your own _father _sold you to pay for his debts. He never loved you. No one ever loved you. You were always a tool. A bargaining chip. A—"

Eleanor's monologue was interrupted as a large pole protruded out of her chest, killing her instantly.

"Next time, make sure I'm actually dead, you bastard," Jack declared, chuckling weakly as he pulled the pole out of her back. He winced at the squelching sound the pole made as he removed it.

Elizabeth breathed heavily, resting her hands on her knees as she watched Jack search the Big Sister's body for ammo. "What…"

Jack looked up at the sound of her voice. "Hm?"

"What are you doing?" she managed to say. "And how did you—"

"Health station," he replied, looking for something along the ground. "Gotta be here somewhere…" he mumbled to himself.

Elizabeth stumbled forwards to help him. "What are you looking for, exactly?" she asked, still breathless.

Jack mumbled something incomprehensible, something that sounded like "ADAM". Elizabeth waved her hand in front of his face, trying to catch his attention. "Oi. Remember me? I'm still here."

Jack groaned. "Yeah, I can see that. If you weren't, I'd have some peace and quiet. C'mon, let's go check in Suchong's office. It might be there." He got up and headed off.

"Jack—"Elizabeth started, but decided against finishing her sentence, instead choosing to follow him instead. "Oh, God." She ran to catch up with him.

"Hey," she breathed, grabbing his arm. "Where's Adam?"

Jack stopped and looked around. "Adam!" he yelled, to no avail. "Adam!" he tried again.

"Damnit," Elizabeth muttered, kicking up dust. "We'll never find him in this place. It's too big."

Jack ran his hand through his hair, which (for some dumb reason) distracted Liz momentarily.

He caught her looking at him and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Oh?"

"Shut up." She hugged herself and looked around nervously. Something wasn't right...

"Something's wrong. I-" she gasped and felt her nose bleed.

Jack ripped a cloth out and held it to her nose. "Are you okay? What happened?" he asked. His voice sounded far away.

Elizabeth had the vague sensation of a dread as she crumpled to the ground, knocked unconscious.


	11. Long Chapter

"Liz? Liz, wake up. Please wake up. Wake. Up. Now."

Elizabeth groaned and sat up, rubbing her forehead wearily. "Jack, shut up."

Jack sighed heavily. "Oh, thank God. You're alive. I was thinking you might actually be dead. You were out for a couple of hours." He held up a bottle of gin, shaking it. "Now, stay still. This is going to hurt." He poured some onto a cloth, rubbed the sides together, and pressed it against her forehead.

"Gah!" Liz gasped, her breath short and ragged as she tried to recover. "What the hell, Jack?"

Jack winced. "Sorry," he said. "You've got a nasty cut up there." He pressed his index and middle fingers together and touched her forehead gingerly. "What happened? Do you remember?"

Elizabeth tried to shake her head, but it hurt too much. "No," she said. She looked around. "Where are we?"

"Therapy Wing."

"You dragged me here?" Elizabeth remarked, impressed.

"Well…I had some help. A Little Sister showed up, and when she saw you, she was scared. I explained to her that I could fix you, and she convinced her Big Daddy to carry you all the way here. They left before I could cure her, though."

Elizabeth shifted her weight uneasily, grimacing at the accompanying pain. "Oh…" she moaned. Her right arm felt like it had been put through a blender. She looked over at Jack, who was studying her curiously.

"What's your tale?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

"What's your tale?" he repeated. "I mean, where are you from? What's your story?"

Elizabeth chuckled weakly. "Uh, no. I don't share with strangers."

"I'm no stranger."

Elizabeth cocked her head. "Really? We've only known each other for a couple of days, and you are, as far as I can tell, a total pain in my ass."

Jack folded his arms. "I gave you my backstory," he pointed out.

"You were being sketchy, if not vague."

Jack nodded conclusively. "Fair enough. My name is Jack Ryan. I was sold to Frank Fontaine when I was still in my mother's stomach. Brigid Tenenbaum and Dr. Yi Suchong were able to take me out, though, and, using science, were able to 'grow' me. Scientifically speaking, of course. Because of that, by the time I was sixteen, I had only been out of the womb for two days. By that time I had begun to age normally. As soon as I turned seventeen, they sent me up to the surface as a sleeper agent. They gave me false memories, and they also implanted a trigger phrase to make me do whatever they wanted me to do. Would you kindly. Two years later, well…." Here he stopped, and looked down at his wrists. Elizabeth now saw the tri-linked chain tattoos on his wrists, something she hadn't seen before. "Here I am again." He looked up. "So that's my story. What's yours?"

Elizabeth was speechless. They were more alike than she'd realized. "Well…my name is...Elizabeth Comstock is just an alias. It's not my real name. My real name is Anna Dewitt. I was born 45 years ago, in an alternate universe. My father sold me to pay for his debts, but he regretted it and tried to get me back. He failed, and so I was stolen and taken to an alternate universe, where there was a city in the sky called Columbia. Nineteen years later, he was given a chance to rescue me. He did, and we tried to stop the man who had taken me. The man who had taken me, Zachary Hale Comstock, turned out to be my father in that reality. My original father killed Comstock, and we escaped. Not clean, though; I was twisted from the innocent, care-free girl I had been before to the hardened, broken-hearted girl you see before you. I got blood on my ledger, same as you. No one can wipe it out. I've been reality-skipping since then, trying to save every version of myself from the terrible fate I had suffered. Funny." She glanced down at her severed pinky, twisting the black thimble around. "It almost worked."

Jack was silent for awhile before he asked, "What happened to your pinky?"

"Hm? Oh, when I was pulled into the other reality as a baby, my pinky was cut off. One part of me was in my original universe, while the rest of me was stuck in the other dimension. It gave me the ability to open portals, known also as tears, to other worlds. Tears are like….like…windows, I guess. Windows between worlds. If I open up a tear, I can bring something from another world into this one."

Jack gaped at her. "Wow. That's…that's incredible. How many alternate universes are there?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Over a million? I have no idea. Each time you make a choice, a new universe is created, one where you didn't make that choice. But there are so many. There's even a universe in which I'm a boy."

Jack chuckled. "Wouldn't that be something."

Elizabeth glared. "And that means that in that universe you were born a girl."

Jack stopped laughing. "Not cool." He folded his arms and stuck his chin out.

Elizabeth laughed. "Uh-huh."

Jack looked up from his wrench that he was cleaning. "Sure."

They sat in silence a while longer, Jack oiling his wrench and other weapons, while Elizabeth laid on the bed. It was about a half-hour later that Jack asked.

"Did you know your mother?"

Elizabeth sat up, startled by the sound of his voice. "Uh…" She thought for a couple of minutes. "No. I don't even _know _who my mother is. Do you know yours?"

Jack shook his head sadly. "Nope. But I know who she is—or…was. My mother was a stripper. Her name was Jasmine Jolene. She was pretty."

"What happened?"

"She died. Andrew Ryan, my father, killed her. Beat her to death with a pole. Even got the pleasure of seeing her corpse myself."

Elizabeth scrunched up her nose. "That sounds horrible."

Jack nodded, staring off into space before his eyes widened in alarm. He stood up and rolled Elizabeth's right sleeve up, revealing several deep, bloody gashes on her right arm.

"Those weren't there before," Jack managed to say, his voice outlined with worry.

"They weren't?" Elizabeth asked, surprised.

Jack shook his head, forced Elizabeth head back down on the pillow, and grabbed a nearby bottle of what appeared to be alcohol, and poured a considerable amount on a piece of cloth. He then proceeded to dab at and clean up her wounds, muttering things like "What the hell?" and "God…".

After he was done, Elizabeth sat up on the bed. "How did they get there?"

"I have no idea." Jack ran his hand through his hair. "Your arm was clean a few minutes before, then…they just appeared. Like…like magic, or something."

Elizabeth scoffed. "There's no such thing as magic."

"There's no such thing as an underwater city, either."

…..

Adam sighed as he counted for what seemed like the millionth time that day how long they'd been waiting. "Two…three…four…"

Anna kicked him in the shin. "Shut up!"

Adam rolled his eyes, ignoring her, and continued. "Five…six…seven…seven. Seven days."

"Seven days! That's a month, right?" Sara asked, climbing up onto the bed.

"No, it's a week, dumbass," Cindy grumbled.

"Hey!" Anna pointed an accusing finger at Cindy. "That's not nice. Stop it."

"When can I go home?" she whined.  
Anna groaned. "I've told you already. We have to wait—"

"And _I've _told _you _that there's no _home _to go back to! Don't you guys get it?! We're trapped here—trapped underwater, trapped in Rapture, stuck in this hellhouse of insanity until we either starve, or get killed, or go insane, or—or—" He seemed to be struggling to find a new fault with the world.

Anna kicked up dust from under her bare heels. She didn't understand this—any of it. Why had that man attacked her? Did she know him?

"Do you think she's going to figure it out?"

"Perhaps."

"Or perhaps not."

"We'll see, dear brother."

"Hm."

Anna looked up and around. No one seemed to be there, thought Anna could've sworn she heard voices. She eventually brushed it off as the after-effects of being a Little Sister—hearing strange voices.

Adam was still ranting about everything that was wrong with Rapture, although by now no one seemed to be listening to him, so he seemed to be talking to himself.

Anna rolled her eyes in annoyance. Did he ever shut up?

She wished he would. Maybe then they could finally get some sleep.

She grabbed the radio Jack had given her and turned it on. She didn't know who she'd been expecting—Jack, maybe?—to answer, but someone did. And it wasn't Jack.

"Oh, thank God I have been trying to reach you for _hours_, Herr Jack. Where have you been? Did I not tell you to always have your radio on?! Wie viele kleine Schwestern haben Sie gefunden? Laufen Sie in jedem Rollenwechsler? Sind Sie verletzt? Wo bist du? Ich bin besorgt krank gewesen! Es ist drei Stunden gewesen. Ich erzählte ihnen, rufen Sie mich zurück in einem!

Herr Jack—"

Anna was about to respond when Jack's voice came out of the radio.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, Dr. Tenenbaum! Honestly. I'm fine. Really. I got sidetracked, but I can take care of myself! You're like a mother hen, always worrying about me, or the Sisters, or the Brothers."

The woman (presumably Dr. Tenenbaum) sighed. "Yes, yes, I'm well aware that you can take care of yourself, Jack. But I must worry. It is a natural instinct. It is only natural that a mother should be concerned about her children. You and the Little Ones—you are like family to me. I raised you from an embryo. I have always felt like you were my own."

"Thanks, Tenenbaum."

"Who is Tenenbaum?" a new voice asked over the radio. It took her a few seconds, but Anna recognized the voice as Elizabeth's.

"Herr Jack, who is that? She's not a Splicer, is she? Getan Jack, was haben Sie? Ist sie deine Freundin? Haben Sie Sex mit ihr? Wenn Sie Sex mit ihr gehabt

—"

"Dr. Tenenbaum! No, I did _not_…although, I admit, I _thought _about it—"

"Verdammt, du Kind!... Es tut mir leid. Aber im Ernst, Jack! Dachte Sie darüber nach?! Sie sind ganz entspannt, von was ich mich erinnere. Ich bin überrascht Sie. Ich bin wirklich. Ich nehme an, du bist erwachsen, aber... na ja, ist sie ein Splicer?"

the woman asked.

_Is she even speaking English? _Anna wondered.

"No, she's not a Splicer. I swear. She's a non-spliced, completely human woman."

"Ist sie hübsch?"

"sie ist absolut atemberaubend, in jeder möglichen Weise."

"Sie sind sehr süß. Sieht sie Sie?"

"I...have keine Ahnung eigentlich. Ich glaube nicht."

"Oh, mein armer Liebling."

"sie scheint mir gleichgültig, aber ich weiß nicht wirklich. Sie ist sehr... "

"Geheimnisvolle"?

"Versteckt, war das Wort, das ich eigentlich suchte."

"Versteckt."

"Ja. Sie traut sich nicht jeder, und anscheinend braucht sie nicht zu. Sie mag wirklich allein, traf es aus wenn Sie meine Bedeutung fangen."

"Dass ich tun."

"Excuse me, but would somebody please tell me what the _hell _you two are talking about? Jack, how do you know German?" Elizabeth inquired.

"Tenenbaum taught me," came the reply.

"Ah. I speak French."

"Good for you."

"Merci, salope. Rappelez-moi de vous frapper plus tard, salaud frustrant attrayant."

"…What?"

"Nothing."

Tenenbaum cleared her throat. "Anyways…Jack. Have you found Anna yet?"

"Yes. But a Big Sister came and took her."

The woman sighed. "Damnit, Jack! This child is vital to our survival!"

"I know, I know—"

"Wait, wait, wait. What does she mean survival?" Elizabeth cut in.

"This particular child, Anna, is wanted by both Andrew Ryan and Sofia Lamb. Despite their immense differences, they have agreed to work together for this purpose. They believe the child to be some sort of…vessel for salvation. We must find the child and save her before it is too late. Atlas has agreed to help us. We must trust him for now. Get that child, Jack, and bring her to me, along with any others you find. As you come across Little Sisters and Brothers, you must cure them and send them to me. I will take care of them. I promise."

"All right. She might be in Persephone. Let's start there. Elizabeth, can you hold this?" he said, the last part directed at Elizabeth.

"Sure."

Meanwhile, Jack and Tenebaum started another conversation in German.

"Ach... Elizabeth, nicht wahr? Das ist Ihr Partner Name?" Tenenbaum asked.

"Ja," Jack replied.

"Es ist sehr hübsch. So schön," Tenenbaum remarked.

"Es ist. Genau wie ihr," Jack agreed wistfully.

"Gefallen Sie haben wirklich, nicht wahr?"

"Ja, und ich kann nicht aufstehen."

"Arme Junge."

"Amen dazu."

"Well," Tenebaum said, in English, "I think it's time I let you two go. Find Anna, and any others you can. Viel Glück."

"I swear, if I ever make it out of here I am going to learn how to speak German," Elizabeth's voice announced.

Jack chuckled, followed by a loud "Ouch!". Anna assumed (correctly) that Elizabeth had hit him over the head.

The radio went silent. Anna sat on the floor, puzzling over all that she had just overheard. This…this was insanity. It was crazy. What did _she _have to do with this? With _any _of this?

After a while, she decided to head back to the camp where the rest of the kids were. Adam was _still _going on about how Rapture sucked, and that none of them were going to live, and how stupid the idea of an underwater city was.

Anna shook her head and wondered if coming back was the best course of action, after all.

"Should we tell her?"

"And what? Ruin the surprise?"

"It might."

"And it might not, dear sister. You really must think before you say these things out loud."

"Hmph."

"Indeed."

Anna whipped around just in time to see two freckle-faced, red-haired twins both clad in green conversing before disappearing into thin air. Anna shook her head and looked again. The same voices she'd heard earlier…

They belonged to them.

But who were they? Anna couldn't shake the feeling that she somehow knew them…

"Hello? Who is using this radio?" a new voice asked, rather politely.

"Anna."

"Hello, Anna. I am Sofia Lamb."

Anna was stunned. "I..I w—was told to stay away from you."

"And you very well should, no doubt. But no matter. For you see, you and I have some very important business to discuss."

"You talk funny."

"How rude of you to notice. However, I still need to speak with you. It's very urgent. You see, I have found a way to—well perhaps it's better if we spoke in person. Meet me in the Little Sister's Orphanage. I presume you know how to get there?" the woman asked.

"Y—yes, ma'am."

"Good girl. Now, I shall see you very soon."

Static followed their conversation as both people hung up.

**You wanna find out what Jack and Tenenbaum said, yeah? Well, go look up Bing Translator on the Internet. You're too lazy? Too bad. I guess you'll never know….anyways. Whew, this was LLOOONNGGG. Imma go make a sandwich. Peace out!**


	12. Hallucinations of the Past

Having to go the Little Sister's Orphanage was bad enough.

The path to get there was even worse.

Jack didn't know who the hell Sofia Lamb was, but he knew enough about her to know that she was bad news. She'd apparently turned many children into monsters. Tenenbaum was very eager to stop her; apparently the two had bad blood. Now Lamb was claiming that she "held the key to Rapture's survival". Jack was no fool. He knew Rapture was doomed. It was doomed from its creation. Like himself.

Elizabeth gazed over his shoulder uncertainly at the radio. "Um…Jack, shouldn't we get going…?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah…in…in a minute, okay?" He sighed. "I need some time."

"Jack, there _is _no time. We have to go."

Jack didn't respond. He simply fingered the radio's power button, waiting to see if Anna would speak again. He was lost in thought, so he didn't notice when Elizabeth started to sing.

She left his side and started scavenging for supplies. She started to hum, softly at first, but the farther she got away from Jack, the louder she became.

Jack recognized the song she was humming as the one they'd heard on the radio, and begun to hum along. Elizabeth looked up from the First-Aid kit she was putting together and narrowed her eyes at him. "You know this song?" she asked, suspicious.

Jack shook his head. "Can't say that I do, ma'am. Would you like to teach me? "

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the formal title given to her and refocused her efforts on assembling a First-Aid kit. She had antiseptic, bandages, alcohol, a needle, scissors, and thread. All she needed now was…

Oh, shit.

Now she just needed some tweezers. Well, there had to be a pair somewhere around here, right?

Right.

Elizabeth headed over to Jack, who was still thumbing the radio. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked irritably, slamming the makeshift emergency kit on the nearby nightstand.

Jack jumped, clearly startled by the noise. He stiffened. "Well—"

"Don't," Elizabeth snapped, snatching the radio from his hands. She threw it into the duffel bag that she'd prepared and glared menacingly at Jack before heading off to find tweezers.

Jack cocked his head to the side curiously. "What?"

"Don't talk to me. I'm mad at you."

"Why?"

Elizabeth huffed and turned to him, crossing her arms. "You didn't tell me we had a murderous psychopath on our heels." She pursed her lips.

Jack groaned. "Oh my God. Okay, I didn't think you would be that…"

"Useful? Able to handle myself? Competent?"

"Uh…interested?" Jack tried.

Elizabeth threw up her hands, exasperated. "Interested! Well, of course I would be! I mean, we could have died, and it would be all your fault!"

"Oh, shut up. Geez, take a breather, will you?" he muttered.

Elizabeth reddened, Jack realized, from anger. "_You _take a breather!" she blurted in frustration.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, _excuse _me, your royal pain in the ass, but _I _didn't sign up for this."

Elizabeth's face flushed. "Well neither did I!"

Jack rolled his eyes and turned his back to her. "Yeah, whatever."

Elizabeth growled in frustration and turned on her heels. Jack raised his hands in defense. "Hey just trying to—"

"I don't really give a damn. Shut up and stop, you damn flirt."

Jack pursed his lips. "I am _not _flirting with you."

Elizabeth scoffed. "Yeah. Sure. Maybe you should take me _dancing_," she replied sarcastically, rummaging around in the cabinet for supplies.

Jack folded his arms and glared profoundly at her. "I don't know how to dance. Are you kidding me?"

Elizabeth whirled around to face him. "You're joking….and you're not. My God, you need help."

"So I've been told."

"If we ever get out of here, you're taking me dancing, and I'll teach you. There. End of discussion." She slammed the cabinet shut, finding nothing of interest inside, and stood up, smoothing her skirt. She headed over to a desk, opened a drawer, and shifted the contents until she had found what she was looking for. She pulled her hair together into a ponytail and leaned down to tie her boots.

Jack just stared, confused. Did a cold-hearted girl just offer to teach him to dance? He was going crazy.

A man's Tennessee accented voice buzzed out of the speaker of the radio. "Hellooooooo, Brigdy! You there, sweetcakes? I got a _bit _of a problem here….someone killed lil' Eleanor, who was supposedly the vessel for Lamb's crazy plan. Damnit, Lamb's gonna be pissed….."

"I'm sorry. Who the hell—" Elizabeth started, but Jack cut her off.

"Sinclair—"

"Heey, Jack! Where's Bridge? Don't tell me—taking care of the Sisters, right?" The man chuckled. "I tell ya, that woman is gonna make a _fine _mother someday. Just you wait an' see."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I swear—"

"Now, Jack….I understand we need to find this Anna. But, um…there, a, ah, problem. You see, the kid is kind of not the problem here. You see this is a trap, set by Lamb. She's found a way to implant ADAM—"

The radio cut off. Jack scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. "Uh…"

Elizabeth, meanwhile, was trying to regain the connection. She carefully took apart the radio, and began to rearrange the wires. Jack looked over her shoulder.

"What are you doing, Liz?"

Elizabeth grunted, shrugging Jack off. "I'm trying to fix this damn thing, you moron."

Jack scrunched up his nose, clearly annoyed. "Hey, just trying to help here. You're not very nice."

"I'm not trying to make friends here, Jack. I'm trying to _survive_. You should try to do the same."

The radio buzzed to life.

"Where'd you guys go?" Sinclair asked.

Jack groaned. "Listen, Sinclair.…we have more pressing issues right now. One of the Little Sisters, Anna, is heading to Lamb's office right now. If she gets a hold of her—"

"Bad things are gonna happen." Sinclair muttered something inaudible over the radio and shuffled some things around. "Well, if we're gonna get out of this one, we're gonna need to weigh our options here. What's the quickest way to Lamb's office?"

"Through Inner Persephone," Elizabeth volunteered.

"Ah, yes, hello to you too. Now, about Anna—"

"Yeah—"

"We're gonna need someone to go and get the little tyke."

"I volunteer the four-year old!" Elizabeth offered, elbowing Jack with a playful grin on her face.

"Hey!" Jack whined.

"See? He doesn't mind," Elizabeth said, her grin growing broader.

Jack pushed her, and she kicked him in response.

"Ow!" he groaned.

"I swear, you two fight like an old married couple," Sinclair remarked.

"Hey!" Elizabeth complained.

"How are we going to get to Anna? Lamb protects her stuff very well," Jack noted.

A loud noise emitted from the other end, like someone shuffling papers. "Uh…let's see here…we got…ooo, that's not good."

"What?"

"Listen, you'd better head to Inner Persephone now. She's almost there." Sinclair hung up.

Jack whistled. "Well, looks like it's you and me. Let's get started."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anna stepped over a dead Splicer and made her way over to the Little Sister's Orphanage. She shuddered as the dead body twitched a bit. "Gross…"

She tripped over another dead Splicer. "Ah!"

Blood smeared on her dress. She tried wiping it off, only resulting in even further dirtying of her dress and blood-covered hands. Sighing, she trudged on, hopping over dead bodies and avoiding Splicers and Big Daddies. Perhaps what worried her even more was the fact that Adam was probably looking for her; and she didn't want to be found. Couldn't he understand that?

Apparently not. Her radio buzzed, and thinking it was Lamb, Anna picked it up.

"I'm almost there. Just a couple more seconds—"

"Listen well, Miss Comstock. I know who you really are. Did you think you could deceive me? I did not pay Atlas to bring me Anna DeWitt just so you could snatch her away! She has a destiny; one that you cannot share. None of you will make it out alive, I promise."

Anna was about to respond when suddenly she felt a sharp, skull-shattering pain in her head. "AAAAHHH!" she screamed, dropping the radio. She grabbed her head, falling to the floor in a fetal position.

"Now we've upset her."

"I don't suppose this next bit will do much for her mood."

Anna looked up. Those two again….

"I hate Irish people," she muttered as she picked herself up off of the ground. She wiped her wet head with her hand and was startled when it came away red. "What the…"

"We're British," said the lady in an annoyed sort of voice.

Anna rolled her eyes. "So?"

"You're rude," the gentleman complained.

"I don't care. I really don't. I just want to get out of here!" Anna yelled.

"That escalated quickly."

"And go where?" the lady asked, ignoring her twin brother. "It's been two years since you came here."

Anna felt her nose start to bleed again and held up her hand to her nostrils. "Four years? No. It—It can't be…" Her vision flashed red and she saw…a tower, shaped like an angel….and…was that a giant metal bird flying to her window?…. Her vision faded, and she heard herself ask, "Where is that place?"

"Not where," the man said.

"When," the lady corrected.

"What? Who are—"Anna began, but they were already gone. "Of course." She sighed and kicked up dust. She thought about what she'd envisioned. A metal bird and an angel tower? She was going crazy.

She picked up the radio from the floor. "Hello?"

"Ah, Anna! I was starting to get worried…Are you almost there?"

Another vision flashed before her eyes, this one depicting a floating city, burning one second, then completely untouched the next. Anna stumbled, and tripped over a dead Spider Splicer as a small voice in her head whispered….

"Anna? What's going on? I can barely hear you, child, is everything alright?"

"No. No, everything's not alright." Anna was practically crying now, though she tried her best to hide it. "And my name isn't Anna, Ms. Lamb."

"It's not?" Lamb asked calmly, clearly amused. "Well, then, child, what is your name?"

"I…" Anna faltered. "I don't know, ma'am. But it's not Anna. I don't belong here—"

"What makes you say that?" Lamb asked.

Anna didn't respond to her question; she simply turned off her radio and smashed it against the ground. She looked down at her dress. "I suppose I should change," she mumbled. She focused on concentrating her energy towards opening up a tear. A few seconds into it, she heard a _warp! _And there was a tear, showing the tower that she'd seen in her "dream". She thought about opening it, but she thought better of it. She quickly closed the tear before she could change her mind and ran down the long, winding tunnels of Rapture, not stopping until she nearly fainted. She didn't know where she was going, what she was doing, or who she even was. But her story, it would seem, was being put together. Talking to those two must have triggered something inside her head, something that was supposed to be gone, nonexistent, erased. But for some reason, it hadn't been done properly, and this was the result. Anna figured it was some sort of memory crisis; but if so, why here? Why now? None of this made sense—it was all jumbled together, like jigsaw puzzle pieces from a thousand different puzzles were thrown together.

One thing stood out, however. In the midst of all the confusion, that one part, that one, small, insignificant part stood out, among all of things she'd seen in that dream. That girl was important…somehow.

_"__Booker, she's going to kill that child! We have to do something!"_

_A girl, about nineteen years old, stood, looking down at the blood-stained body of the African-American woman she had just killed. Her tattered sailor's dress was splattered with fresh blood, and her eyes looked in horror at the bloody scissors in her hand. Her face was dotted with specks of blood and dirt. Her eyes took in all of this, and Anna felt herself stepping towards this strange person._

_The girl set her eyes on Anna and stepped back, gasping. Her sky-blue eyes were wide with horror and guilt as she realized what she had just done._

_"__Elizabeth…" she heard a man say. Booker?_

_"__I guess it runs in the family." The girl, supposedly Elizabeth, turned and ran away._

_The man followed her shortly after._

_Anna stood, speechless. She thought she'd seen that girl's face before…but she hadn't, had she?_

_No….._

Anna woke up, weary and cold, to a flashlight shining in her face. "What the hell?" she grunted angrily, swatting it away.

"Hey!" a voice chastised. Jack. "Don't use that kind of language. How are you doing?"

"She's alive, Jack. I think that's more than we can say for the rest of them. S=Leave her alone—Mary, get that damn flashlight out of her face!" Elizabeth scolded.

A blond girl of about four shut the flashlight off, and it took Anna a moment to adjust to the light.

"Sorry," the child squeaked, running off.

Another person was there, one Anna did not recognize. His black hair was slicked back, he wore suspenders, and he was speaking to Tenenbaum with a flirty expression on his face.

"Who's that?" she asked Elizabeth, pointing to him.

"That's Sinclair," she said, without looking at him. "He's apparently a friend of both Jack's and Brigid's."

"Oh." Anna fumbled with the skirts of her bloodstained bluebell dress. "Uh, I have a question to ask you?"

"Sure. Fire away," Elizabeth said, not taking her eyes off of her work (which appeared to be a code).

"What happened to your pinky?"

Elizabeth stopped what she was doing at once and looked Anna straight in the eye. "Don't ask again."

Anna cringed. "Sorry. Just curious, I guess."

Elizabeth seemed to accept that and went back to her code-breaking. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

"No!" Anna said at once.

Elizabeth looked at her. "What? Why not?"

No way was she going to tell Elizabeth that she as having hallucinations in her sleep. "Uh…I'm not tired. Can I stay up?"

"Hmph." Elizabeth eyed her suspiciously but said nothing. Instead she fingered her pendant, which caught Anna's eye.

"Where did you get that?" Anna asked.

"My father chose it for me." She said no more on the matter.

Anna's head was spinning like a top. First she wakes up in a crazy-ass place filled with roving maniacs, and now she starts having hallucinations _in her sleep_ (and about another person's past, no less)? Talk about survival of the fittest. It looked like the freaking apocalypse from her point of view.

"I'm going crazy," she muttered.

"Maybe you're just tired," Jack suggested. "Get some rest."

"Whatever I do, I am _not _going back to sleep." Anna folded her arms across her chest resolutely and jumped out of her bed to go play with the other kids in Tenebaum's safe-house.


	13. A Filler Chapter

"Anna? Anna!"

Anna was jolted wide awake by the sound of Jack's voice crying out frantically. "What?"

"Oh, thank God. I think you were having a nightmare. They've been more recent over the past week…" Jack offered her a glass of water. "Here."

"Thanks." Anna took it gratefully. She sipped and sighed. "Have they tracked down Lamb yet?"

Jack shook his head. "No. We're still looking. But don't worry; we'll find her."

"What does she want with me, anyways?" Anna asked. "I mean, I'm just a regular kid. I'm not special or anything."

"I honestly don't know," he admitted. "But whatever it is, it can't be good."

Anna nodded wordlessly and laid back down again. Jack go up and went away.

Anna had every intention of going back to sleep, but just then Elizabeth said something that jolted her wide awake.

"Should we tell her?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"What, that Lamb plans to sell her to a xenophobic, homophobic, racist, power-hungry, manipulative sterile bastard in exchange for—what was it again?" Jack retorted.

"In exchange for Eleanor. And yes. Don't you think she should know?"

"No. Believe me, there are far worse things than knowing the truth. She's better off."

Elizabeth sighed. "Fine. Have it your way, I suppose. But if she finds out—"

"If she finds out, I will take care of it," Jack said.

Anna decided to stop listening at once. She tried to go back to sleep, but the conversation kept replaying in her head.

She decided to push the matter aside for now. Instead, she tried to keep herself awake. She already knew that Sofia Lamb planned to sell her to Comstock for her daughter (and honestly she couldn't blame her, right) back, but it seemed as though that deal had already been tossed in the bin.

"Why are you awake, Anna?" one of the Little Sisters asked, climbing up onto her lap.

"Oh, I'm just not tired, um…Kathy?"

"Katy."

"Right." Anna smiled a fake smile and then yawned.

Katy slid off her lap and headed over to the phonograph box, where they kept the records. She selected one, and placed it on the turntable. "Beyond the Sea" started to drift through the room, lightning the mood.

"What song is this?" one of the boys asked.

"It's by Bobby Darin, I think," another replied. "I think it's called Beyond the Sea."

"Ah. Say, do you want to play checkers?"

"Sure."

The two boys sat down and began their game while Katy and another boy (Jude) picked out the next record. A Little Sister, Diana, was turning the handle of the phonograph, trying to figure out how it worked. Anna came over and swatted her hand away, afraid that she might break it.

"Don't touch that," she scolded.

"Why not?"

"You might break it."

Diane rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

Sinclair was uncomfortable. "I don't really feel comfortable around these kids, Tenenbaum."

"Oh, they're perfectly harmless. I promise you." Jack took another sip of his beer.

Elizabeth scrunched up her nose distastefully. "You shouldn't have that. It's for adults."

"I am an adult."

"You're four, asshat."

Jack scoffed. "Whatever."

Anna snickered. "If they don't get married, I'll give you my whole allowance," she whispered to Adam.

Adam bit his lip, trying hard not to laugh. "All right. If they do, I'll give you mine."

They laughed and shook hands on it. Anna got up and went over to help the other kids pick out a new record.

"How about this one?" Mack, a Little Brother, said, holding up a record titled "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".

The others nodded, and Lisa, a Big Sister (who had been cured by Tenenbaum; apparently, she'd found a way to cure adults, as well as children.) helped Mack put it on the turntable and let Diane turn the handle.

"Ooo, I like this song. What's it called?" one of the younger kids asked.

"_Everybody Wants to Rule the World_, by Tears for Fears," another replied.

Jack shook his head. "Not everyone. I don't."

Anna was entertained by the Little and Big Sisters and Brothers. Honestly, they'd grown on her. As she was drifting off to sleep, she overheard some of their conversations.

"Listen, honey, I've got a million things on my to-do list, and you aren't one of them. So get out of my face."

dddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

"Have you ever noticed how pickles and onion taste really good with salami?"

"No."

ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

"Did you hear Sinclair? He said Mama Tenenbaum was gonna bring us to the surface!"

"Wow! Wait, what's the surface?"

"I have no idea!"

dddddddddddddddddddddddd

"What's wrong with you?!"

"I was a Little Sister. What's your excuse, sugar?"

ddddddddddddddddddddd

After a time, Anna was almost asleep when she felt a sharp pain in her nose.

Her nose felt wet suddenly, and she wiped at it with the back of her hand. When she looked down, her had was covered in blood.

"Anna? Anna, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Adam asked, standing up.

Anna tried to stand up, but her body felt like a noodle. She couldn't hear, she couldn't move, she couldn't smell, she couldn't talk. She was beyond freaked out.

Her vision went fuzzy, and she blacked out.

**OKAY SO THIS WAS A FILLER CHAPTER DON'T JUDGE ME OKAY?!**


	14. The Room

She found herself in a fairly nice bedroom. She looked around, amazed at the large window on the left side of the room. There were posters of popular films and music and things like that scattered on the walls. Across the room from the bed was the door to the rest of the apartment (at least, she assumed). On the right side of the room, about three feet away from the bed, there was a dresser with various things assembled on the top, including but not limited to: a camera, a phonograph, a record album, film, and a music box. A vanity was placed against the wall on the right side of the room, complete with a mirror and a chair. A guitar was leaned against the wall next to it. In the bottom right corner of the mirror, there was a picture of the middle-aged bulky man that had claimed to be her father. He was holding a small child on his shoulders, and the child was laughing. The man was smiling at the girl, and he had his hands on the girl's wrists, supporting her weight.

Anna inspected the girl more closely. She had beautiful, thick dark brown hair that almost reached her waist, tied back with a big blue ribbon and in a ponytail. The girl didn't look more than five years old, with a somewhat chubby figure. She wore a white sundress that reached her knees, with sandals and a sunhat, tilted to the left and in danger of falling off of her head. Her eyes were a blue to match the sky. Her pearly-white teeth sparkled in the sunlight, and her tiny hands clutched at her father's hair. She looked happy as she waved a little American flag in her hand.

Anna picked up the photograph. She'd seen this picture before….

A girl of about six years came running into the pretty room and Anna quickly turned around, dropping the photograph. She realized that the girl in the photograph was the same one that was in the room with her now.

"Hold on, Daddy, I'm coming, I'm coming!" the girl cried. She grabbed her camera off of her dresser and ran out again.

Anna breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she hadn't seen her. She stooped down and retrieved the photograph from the floor. It had fallen face-down, and Anna saw writing on the back in black ink.

**July 4****th****, 1898**

**We spend the day at the New York raffle, and Anna shows off her new favorite toy**

Anna gasped. She remembered this….

A drop of blood dripped onto her hand, and then another, and another, and then it stopped. Anna stood up, her hands shaking, as she looked out the window.

"No…." she whispered in awe.

The Eiffel Tower stood, proud and tall, in the distance, making the whole scene more elegant.

"Paris? No way…no….I—I'm in…i-in Paris?"

She turned away from the window and looked at her reflection. She looked at the photo again, and she felt water dripping down her skull.

She absentmindedly placed a hand to her head and wiped it off, too busy with trying to figure out what was going on to notice that it wasn't water.

Her nose started to bleed again, and she placed the photograph back where it belonged.

She looked at her hand and screamed. Her right and was coated with blood. She held her hand up to the right side of her head again, and felt warm, wet blood trickle down her skull and run into her hand. Horrified, she tried to stabilize the wound, but nothing worked. She was a bloody mess, and she had gotten blood all over the vanity. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, all of the blood was gone. Her skull was still bleeding, though, and she looked in the mirror, trying to find the source of the damage.

That's when she noticed another picture, on the table part of the vanity. She picked it up. There wasn't anything unusual about it; a woman was leaning against a railing, smiling at the camera. Her eyes were blue, like Anna's, and her brown hair was tied in a loose ponytail. There was something familiar about the woman….Hoping to get a better look, she held it closer.

The pain in her head increased and she dropped the framed picture, which hit the ground and smashed. Anna clutched her head in agonizing pain, and after a few minutes it went away. She knelt down and sifted through the shattered pieces of glass to find the photograph. Curious, she turned it over.

**Annabelle DeWitt, March 27****th****, 1893**

**New York**

She placed the photo on the desk and clutched the edge of the vanity, screaming for help. Blood was everywhere, her vision was fuzzy; she started to remember….

Her nose was bleeding, her head was bleeding, and her whole body felt like it was going to collapse on itself. She started to see things, and pretty soon every sense of her being was torn apart. Desperate to escape, she managed to pull herself together, concentrate, and create a tear.

She stood, blood-covered but satisfied with her work. She'd created a tear; a rip in the fabric of space and time. Anna peeked through her creation, grabbing the picture of her mother on the way.

"It looks like…a floating city," she said to no one in particular. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes tight, and opened the tear.

It took all of her willpower, but she managed to do it. The second it opened, however, Anna's whole being literally exploded.


End file.
